Friday, 28 December 2012

Photos by Felipe Ribon

French design brand Super-ette has launched a brushed stainless steel version of the Love Me Tender chair, which was designed by Didier Faustino in 2000. The new release is limited to 100 editions, priced at 3900 Euros each.

Wednesday, 26 December 2012

Monday, 24 December 2012

Designer Alex Hull created this sofa for Gallery Fumi as part of its exhibit at art and design fair PAD London 2012. Called Split Sofa, the piece is made of leather and suede with a composite core, and is available in an edition of six.

French designer Mathieu Lehanneur has created a piece of art for the Palliative Care unit of Hospital Diaconesses Croix St-Simon, in Paris. Beyond purely medical care, the hospital takes into consideration the spiritual concerns of the terminally ill and their closed ones, and wished to address the issue of time - omnipresent within its walls - in a poetic and sensitive way.

The 2010 winner of Muuto's annual design competition has just been launched on to the market. The Pull lamp is designed by Whatswhat, a Swedish design collective founded by three recent graduates from Konstfack design school.

Thursday, 20 December 2012

Le Bon Marché continues its 160th anniversary celebrations in its Christmas windows, paying tribute to the Rive Gauche.
Four of the Left Bank's famous landmarks are represented in two-dimensional cutouts, which are layered to create a 3D effect.

Finnish illustrator and designer Klaus Haapaniemi has opened a pop-up shop in central Helsinki. Open until the end of January, the winter-themed shop includes his signature collections of cushions, throws and hand-tufted rugs, as well as special products such as limited edition ceramics and jewellery.

Ewa Solarz' design book for children, first published in 2011, guides kids through 69 of the most innovative household items from the last 150 years. Illustrated by Aleksandra and Daniel Mizielinski, the book includes classics from Droog, Philippe Starck, Marcel Breuer and Le Corbusier.

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

A di Alessi has launched Palle Presepe, a range of crib figures to add some fantasy and humour to the Christmas tree. Included in the set are contemporary spins on Maria and Josef with Jesus, ox and donkey, angel, star and the three wise men.

Designed by Marcello Jori, the set combines two festive traditions: displaying the nativity scene and decorating the Christmas tree.

Monday, 17 December 2012

French designer Cédric Dequidt has invented a way of writing numbers in lowercase.

Dequidt designed the cursive style to bring the shape of numbers up to date with the evolved shape of letters, explaining that the way we write numbers today "was brought to Europe in the 10th century. Their definitive shape has been evident since the 15th century."

Challenged by the city of Bruxelles to rethink the traditional Christmas tree that decorates its Grand Place every year, 1024 Architecture have designed a contemporary electronic tree (or Abies Electronicus in Latin), made of a metallic structure covered in a white cloth.

By day the tree is a 19 metre-high belvedere that the public can climb up to in order to admire the panoramic view of the city; by night it is a musical and visual installation.

Fresh from the success of its London 2012 Olympic torch, British design studio BarberOsgerby has designed a new version of the £2 coin, commissioned to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the London Underground.

The design depicts a train rushing through the tunnels of the city's famous tube system, making the most of the coin's bimetal style, and will be released in 2013 as part of a special commemmorative set.

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

The 2013 edition of Saint Etienne's International Design Biennale will take place in March, for the first time in its fourteen years of existence. The theme, chosen this year by the Cité du Design as a general question to fuel all exhibitions and events, is 'Empathy or experiencing the other'.

Special installations and events spanning design, technology and architecture will be staged to explore ways to re-think society in a more respectful manner. As design is a dialogue between a creator and a user, what happens on the way between the two and what influence can they both have on the world in general? The Biennale will hence question the interaction we have with objects, with machines, with the planet and with the rest of the human community.

Designers including Matali Crasset, Front, the Campana brothers, Alfredo Haberli and Marcel Wanders have created their own distinctive take on the wooden toy car for a new exhibition at Milan's National Museum of Science and Technology.

Called 100% TobeUs, the show is the brainchild of designer Matteo Ragni, who produced his first series of model cars back in 2007, and then invited 100 designers to design their favourite toy car, creating a highly original and varied new collection.

Rockwell's installation invites young visitors to create their own course of play with contemporary objects, playscapes and furniture pieces. Works from designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Enzo Mari, Verner Panton and Eero Aarnio are featured alongside the project.

Friday, 7 December 2012

British blind specialist New House Textiles has released its new trim and braid range, which concentrates on fabric, texture and colour to add a decorative element to window coverings. Floral, geometric or plain, each pull has been designed to instantly accessorise and match existing blinds.

Louis Vuitton introduced a new limited edition collection of travel furniture and accessories at DesignMiami/ this week. A tribute to the fashion house's original bespoke travel commissions from the 19th century, the collection includes folding beach chairs and table, stools, lamps, hanging seats, and even a hammock.

Pantone have announced its colour of 2013: a "lively, radiant and lush" emerald green, which the colour authority describes as "a colour of elegance and beauty that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony."

French designer and architect Ora Ito has designed the new Hotel O, a retro-futuristic hotel situated in the heart of Paris. The 29 bedrooms explore the whole chromatic spectrum, with each floor hosting four or five rooms in the same colour group. Yet each one is painted and upholstered in its own unique shade, thus participating in the creation of a graded path that runs throughout the building.

Wednesday, 5 December 2012

The body balm and scrub of the Aesop-Marimekko Sauna Duet merges Marimekko's Finnish roots with Aesop's expertise in producing high-quality skincare products. Packaged in recycled jars and presented in a cotton bag decorated with Marimekko's Vellamo print, the products will be available to purchase from April 2013 in Marimekko stores and online at Aesop.com.

This week The Royal College of Art opens its first Christmas Fête, offering a range of design and art pieces by students and graduates. Running 6 - 9 December, the event provides an alternative and affordable approach to seasonal gifting, and in turn helps promote the work of RCA students.

Belgian designer Jean-Francois d'Or combines rigorous shapes with the delicacy of clear glass in the Blossom tableware collection. A thick raised pattern runs around each piece, reflecting the light as if through pixels, while the base is curved, creating a magnifying glass effect.

Friday, 30 November 2012

Finnish design students Nikolo Kerimov, Juho Kruskopf and Arttu Kuisma created this innovative packaging design. Called OneEighty, the product's tessellated geometric surface allows it to fit to the shape of a hand while keeping contents safe.

Austrian-born and Paris-based designer Robert Stadler has designed a new chair for German manufacturer Thonet. Inspired by the brand's classic bentwood model, it references its predecessor yet is significantly cheaper to produce thanks to modern production technologies.

The frame of the chair is made in solid wood while the seat and backrest are in plywood. It is also available in an upholstered version.

Wednesday, 28 November 2012

At hospitality tradeshow The Sleep Event this month in London, one detail that continued to stand out for contract spaces was wall panelling. Vibrant colour palettes combined with innovative textured designs to transform hotel interiors into newly tactile, contemporary environments.

This is how De Padova in Milan (situated at Corso Venezia 14 since 1965) has decorated its 2000 square metre space for Christmas. Curated by Jo Ann Tan, the installation features a special selection of furniture and accessories for home and office, tied together with red present-shaped props and curling, oversized ribbon.

Winner of the 2012 Time To Design award, Scottish designer Catherine Aitken has created a colourful series of stools that explore gradual changes through increasing or decreasing levels of colour and material.

Tuesday, 27 November 2012

For a shot of colour inspiration, we recommend technicolour Tumblr, For Arts Sake. Covering everything from balls of rainbow-coloured yarn to intricately patterned tiles, the blog posts inspiration found all over the world, and from every creative sector - as long as it's colourful.

British-Japanese ceramicist Reiko Kaneko has created a range of Christmas decorations inspired by snowflakes. Each bone china ornament is based on a photograph of a real snowflake, and is Bisque fired, unglazed, resulting in a delicate, matt finish.